Lawmakers nix many bottle law changes
A legislative committee has dismissed a handful of bills seeking to change the state's bottle redemption law.
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted to kill six bills related to bottle redemption in the state, including exempting containers larger than 28 ounces and establishing a flat 5-cent deposit, and instead focused on ways to prevent fraud in the existing system, according to The Associated Press and MaineToday Media. The committee approved one bill, LD 1324, that amends the current system by giving small distributors more flexibility in how they package redeemable containers. The bill also asks the Maine Department of Agriculture to establish rules on the number and location of redemption centers in the state, and gives redemption centers the ability to bring civil action against anyone redeeming more than 48 beverage containers not purchased in Maine, according to MaineToday. The bill goes to the House and the Senate for review. A bill seeking to repeal the bottle law had already been withdrawn.
Members of Maine's beverage industry pushed for changes to the bottle law, saying that fraudulently redeemed containers cost distributors about $8 million a year.
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